HONG KONG — Hundreds of Hong Kong police officers moved in early Wednesday to clear pro-democracy protesters out of a tunnel outside the city government headquarters in the latest escalation of tensions in a weeks-long political crisis.
Officers, many of them in riot gear and wielding pepper spray, tore down barricades and concrete slabs around the underpass.
The operation came hours after a large group of protesters blockaded the tunnel, expanding the protest zone after being cleared out of some other streets.
The protesters outnumbered the police officers, who later returned with reinforcements to clear the area.
Local television broadcast live footage of the operation and its aftermath, with officers taking away many protesters, their hands tied with plastic cuffs, and pushing others out to a nearby park.
The student-led protesters are now into their third week of occupying key parts of the city to pressure the Asian financial hub’s government over curbs recommended by Beijing on democratic reforms.
Positions on both sides have hardened since the government called off negotiations last week.
